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Season 3, chapter 2, part 1.
Searching!
A couple of days later, it is late, and the last light in the Black Bulls' hideout has gone out. Millie is sitting on her usual branch, doing some reading. The air is getting chilly, and a harsh wind blows by. She holds her breath until the chilly wind passes before looking back to the page in her book.
She hears footsteps in the grass and looks from the page to the ground. She sees Haze walk up to her with his broom in hand, his gaze fixed on her. "Is there anything that you may need, sir?" she asks softly.
"There is. Did you mean it when you said you wanted to help, right?" he asks.
"Of course, sir. I always wish to help, sir," she says accommodatingly, putting her book into her bag and swinging her feet to the side of the branch before sliding off and landing in the grass.
"Good, just come with me," he says and mounts his broom, ascending into the sky. Millie brings out her wings and does the same.
They fly for quite a while, eventually reaching an area with deep hills where the ground becomes more rocky, with fewer places with grass and trees. She sees Haze fly down low, and she follows him, landing close by as he lands behind a boulder and puts his broom against the rock. He crouches down and leans to see a tiny house at the bottom of the valley standing alone. ("I thought it would be much bigger than that," he thinks to himself.)
"Alright, lay low. I don't think anyone is home, but they may be asleep," Haze orders in a whisper.
"Yes, sir," Millie responds softly under her breath, and Haze moves on, with Millie following shortly behind.
They walk up to the house, and Haze tries the door, but it is locked. "Damn it," he utters. "One moment, sir," Millie says and moves to the lock. Haze gives her room, and Millie takes out her claw and moves things inside the lock, twisting until they hear it unlock.
"Nice," he says, and Millie moves over as Haze opens the door, and they walk into the dark room. Millie forms a white flame next to her shoulder, providing light to the shadowy room. Haze begins to look through shelves and drawers, glancing over every paper that he can find. "No, no, and no," he mutters, continuing his search. Millie's eyes trail the room with a bed in one corner, a kitchen in the other corner, and a living room in between, with a few shelves, bookcases, and cabinets.
Her eyes move over the wooden walls and ceiling, which seem rather well-cleaned, and she notices an end table next to the bed. She narrows her eyes. "Damn it!" Haze yells, throwing a book across the room. Millie moves and lets it fly past her. Haze still has his back turned, sounding quite annoyed as he drags his hands through his hair, thinking everything through, trying to think of anything that he may have overlooked.
"I may have found something, sir," Millie softly utters, and he turns to her as she moves the end table aside to reveal a trapdoor underneath.
"I see. I knew this place was too tiny," he says and walks over as Millie opens the door, looking down into the hole. He sees a ladder that leads down into the abyss.
He puts his feet into the hole and begins to climb downwards into the rocky cave. He looks around and sees torches, which are lit, mounted on the cave wall, leading further inside.
"I get the sense that there is someone down here. We should be alert," Haze says in a hushed tone.
"Understood, sir," she gently and quietly responds.
They move further into the cave as quietly as they can, but everything is so very silent. Eventually, they arrive at a big room where several crates and boxes are stored. Some are open, revealing potions, and some have powder in them, while others have mixtures in them. Looking further, in the corner of the room stands several three-story bunk beds with people resting sound asleep.
("I didn't realize there would be this many," Haze thinks to himself, as there must be at least a hundred mages resting within the big cave.)
Haze looks over to a room, which seems more like an office on the other side, so he proceeds to quietly sneak past the goons, with Millie following behind him.
He walks into the room, which has a bed on one end, a desk, and a bookshelf to the left. He walks over to the desk and starts to look through the papers. Millie looks around the room and sees notes hung up on the walls. She looks over to the bookcase before looking to Haze, who seems focused on finding something.
"Sir, what specifically are you searching for?" she asks but gets no response. "Sir, I can help," she offers.
"Just be quiet," he whispers harshly as he keeps looking. "Yes, sir," she kindly responds and grabs a book, skimming the pages as she flips through it before moving on to the next one.
"Damn it," she hears Haze utter and looks over to him as he begins opening drawers. Her eyes soften in concern as she goes to check more books.
As she gets to the third, a note falls out with a few names:
Kenly Sephra.
Kyle Menercy.
Frederik Arcian.
Jake Kersty.
She opens the note, where it states, "Make sure to keep them in check." ("Check? What do these guys have in common anyways? Are they business associates?" Millie wonders to herself.)
"Damn it," she hears Haze say a little louder. She looks to him again and to the book the note fell out of, where it says "business tactics."
"Sir?" she asks.
"What is it?" Haze snaps at her aloud. "What do these names have in common?" she asks, showing him the note.
"They are all assholes, is what," he says and moves over to the chest, which is locked.
"Damn it, open it," he orders her, and she moves over to the chest. Using her claws, she cuts the lock off, and Haze opens the chest only to find gold.
"Fuck, there is nothing in here either," he says, growing even more bothered and annoyed. "Why can't I ever seem to find anything USEFUL?" he yells, slamming the chest shut.
"Huh, who is there?" they hear a tired, loud voice say.
"Damn it, well, there wasn't anything useful in here anyways," he says and leans to the door opening to see the goons getting out of bed.
He sees a couple walking his way. "Damn it, I suppose we are busted," he says and takes a breath, stepping out of the room, standing in front of the door. "You got me, guys," he says, putting his hands into his pockets. "You've got a lot of nerve breaking in here, and on top of that, you seem to be way too calm for someone who is about to get his butt kicked into next week," one of them says and brings out his grimoire, which he opens with his yellow-tinted mana.
"Yeah, you will pay for waking us up like this," the other guy says, and Haze sees more guys getting out of bed, readying themselves for a battle. "Why don't Millie put you back to sleep then," he says, seeing them all with their grimoires open, each with their distinct color for their magics and abilities.
"Ready, guys? Set, FIRE!" the man in front yells, and everyone shoots their shot in unison towards Haze, who takes his hand to his mouth and pretends to yawn as the offensive spells grow closer, and a spherical bubble surrounds him as the shield is erected and defends him against all the spells.
"What the, that is some sturdy shield you've got there, but not even your mana is enough to stand against all of us for long," the man in the front says.
And Haze looks to him. "And I told you, that me is not the one you need to worry about," he says, and the goons look at him dumbfounded as Haze begins to walk. They see a shadowy figure move up close to the guy in front and taps his forehead, and he falls over, and everyone is startled, seeing Millie standing there calmly. "Where did she come from?" the guy next to her asks while Haze keeps walking.
"Millie, take care of them," he orders. "Yes, sir," Millie replies, as a some of thelife in her eyes disappears while the guy next to her sends lightning her way, and Millie forms a blade from above her wrist, extending down to her knee, and swiftly she cuts the lightning in half and looks to the man and lunges, and before he can react, she pokes his forehead, and he falls over. And she moves to the next one who sends fire that she cuts through, and she does the same.
"Don't just stand there, fire! There is no way that she can take on all of us at once, especially if we get the brat as well," a man in the back yells, and everyone erects their offensive spells again and fires towards Millie, who swiftly keeps on her toes as the barrage of spells comes her way, she erects a shield ahead of her and moves over to the next target, and as soon as she gets close, she disappears, the shield, and pokes the man's forehead, and he falls over.
Meanwhile, Haze keeps walking with a shield surrounding him, making any spell launched at him ineffective.
Millie keeps going, and one by one, another man falls ("this is just like the battlefield during the war. Every battle is all the same. And this way of doing things") Millie thinks to herself, remembering Thomson's words ("Millie, take care of it") he said while facing an army, and he just walks calmly through the battlefield. ("This way of doing things is cold, but in a way, it feels so familiar, so predictable. Safe even") her mind continues as another man falls, and she erects her arm blade and cuts through a water ball, and on her toes, she spins and lunges for the guy. ("But why? Why does battle feel so much safer than") she thinks to herself, remembering Asta extending his hand to her after defeating the devil Deva. And her mind moves to the many meals she had with the Black Bulls, and she remembers Asta extending his hand to her after dealing with the reaper skull before her mind goes to the battle with the reaper ("Millie, trust me!") he yelled.
Another guy shoots rock bullets her way and erects a shield as her mind goes to the battle with the devil underground ("I trusted Asta to take care of things without thinking that time... why does that terrify me. Why does battling that I despise feel so reassuring? Why am I so shaken by all of this") Millie's mind asks herself, remembering Sara and her sister Melissa, as her memory goes to her hand going through Sara's chest.
Millie narrows her eyes, jumping at a guy and pokes his forehead, and he falls over. She turns her eyes towards Haze who is walking to the cave leading to the exit. "How about this!" she hears a groggy voice say, and she dodges and jumps away from a big stone-made club that smashes into the earth in front of her she steps aside and crouches down and spins, knocking the man off his feet, and as he falls back, she pokes his forehead, and he goes to sleep as well.
Another five guys shoot for her, and she moves so quickly and with a flash, they all fall to the ground as well.
And soon the rest falls, and she looks around herself, looking at all the unconsus guys on the floor. "Ngh," she lets out and holds her head, remembering herself standing in the barren wasteland with dead bodies littered everywhere, the iron scent of blood lingers everywhere as only smal traces of mana linger.
Millie begins to breathe hastily before grabbing her brooch. "It is all right," she softly whispers to herself as she takes a deep calming creath and centers herself again. And she listens to her surroundings, and she hears it faintly, the wooden creaking of the ladder that is most likely being climbed by Haze.
Millie looks to the office room and walks inside and looks over the papers and notes and takes what she deems interesting and she looks to the chest of gold.
Later she walks out of the house, and she sees Haze kicking a tree. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" he yells. "Why can't I ever get anywhere?" he yells in annoyance. "Sir, if you let me help, I can-," she softly offers.
"It is none of your business," he snaps and frowns at her, his eyes burning, and her eyes go to that of understanding. "Understood, sir," she utters. "Good, now shut up and let us go," he says and walks over to get his broom. A strong chilly wind blows by and Millie hugs herself until the harsh wind passes. Millie then brings out her wings and sees him take off. And they travel for a bit, seeing the sun rise in the far distance.
They travel for another hour or so before the hideout comes into view in the distance ("how can I find a way to help him without bothering him?") Millie wonders to herself as they land in front of the hideout, and they see Asta walk out.
"Oh, Haze, there you are, where have you been?" Asta asks. "Just for a trip," Haze replies. "Right, I have just fed the magical beasts, and I saw that you might have forgotten to clean the pen like Yami told you to," Asta reminds him.
"Right, I will get right on that," Haze tells him. "Great, I am off to training, see ya, you too, Millie," Asta says eagerly with a smile and walks past the two heading for the forest, and Liebe, who sits on Asta's shoulder in his small form, looks to Haze and Millie. "Come, Millie," Haze says, grabbing Millie's hand and dragging her along.
Then Haze walks with Millie into the hallway to the beast room, and he stands in front of the cage. "Get to work, this was your fault to begin with, remember?" he says harshly, and Millie opens her mouth, uncertain of what to do. Her mouth quivers as she shuts it.
"Remember?" Haze asks again and turns towards her, and Millie is about to unwillingly do the same with her mouth. "Answer! Why aren't you using your words?!" he asks harshly, and Millie gulps. "I-I am just confused sir, as my silence is what was requested, sir," she replies.
"What?" Haze asks. "W-while we were still by the base of those thugs, your exact words were 'shut up,' sir," she replies, bowing her head. "And now I told you to speak, why can't you distinguish between when to talk or not, geez," Haze tells her and turns around and walks. "Just get the job done," he says, and Millie nods. "Yes, sir," she utters and looking to the mop leaning against the wall and her eyes trail to the floor seeing Asta's water bottle ("Why is this here? Does Master Asta not need it for his training?") Millie wonders to herself.
She hears the door at the end of the hall leading to the rest of the base slam shut, and her eyes turn to look at it at the end of the dimly lit hallway before turning her eyes to look at the beasts inside the cage wagging their tails to her and making friendly noises.
"That is sweet that you have eagerly awaited me, mister," she replies to them, getting the mop, and she unlocks the cage door and steps inside and is greeted with a tongue licking her stomach, and she takes her hand on the wolf-like magical beast and smiles. "I have missed you guys too. Now I will give you guys plenty of belly rubs once I have cleaned the cage, but you will have to behave until then, alright?" she tells them, rubbing the gorilla-like magical beast on his cheek, and the bear-like magical beast pokes her other side with its nose, and she turns her attention to that one as well and pets his forehead.
She gets to work, meanwhile Asta is training in the woods with Liebe for quite a bit. Asta takes his last sit up, "Ten thousand!" he exclaims, sitting up and goes to his satchel. Liebe sits up next to him, "What is it?" Liebe asks.
"My water bottle is gone, I must have left it by the beast room," he says, and Liebe stands up to his feet. "I'll get it," he says.
"You will? Thanks, Liebe," Asta replies. Liebe walks around the hideout and goes into the back, and he walks down the hallway. He hears Millie's soft voice utter, "I told you, mister, no messing around until the job is done," as he walks up to the cage and looks inside to see Millie inside on all fours, holding a cloth in one hand and her hand on the wolf's nose with her other hand.
"Isn't Haze supposed to clean the cage?" Liebe asks, leaning his arm against the bars of the cage. Millie turns her gaze to Liebe, doe-eyed. She looks at him for a short second, "Sir Liebe. Yes, well, sir Haze only got in trouble because I forgot to tell him that I covered the rest of everyone else's things when we went shopping for everyone at the castle town, sir," Millie replies.
"Wasn't it his fault for ordering you to get everything without properly giving you everything you needed to get the task done?" Liebe asks.
"Yes, well, sir Haze seems to have quite a lot on his mind, so this is the least I can do to help out, sir," she replies while the wolf pushes its nose closer to her face and licks her.
"Hey, easy, I said you have to wait, mister," Millie softly utters, turning her gaze to the wolf, and Liebe watches their interactions. "I knew the cage was way too clean for that lazy idiot to be the one behind it, and while getting the blame and covering for him, she makes excuses for him and does his job," Liebe thinks to himself with a question, seeing Millie turning her doe-eyed silver gaze back to Liebe, who proceeds to lock eyes with her. "Did you come seeking my assistance with something, sir?" she asks, her tone kind and accommodating. Liebe looks at her within the cage, sitting there on her knees, patiently awaiting his response, and his eyes go to the bell around her neck. He remembers her words when dealing with those men who were terrorizing a child a month ago, "I am already on a leash," and he remembers what he read in the book of contract and what happens once it gets activated, and the way her movement and magic get repressed and locked away.
"Maybe I was being paranoid for no reason. So far, she doesn't seem like someone with ill intentions. Besides her strength, there isn't much she can do once the chain is activated, she becomes powerless, witht he contract she has with Asta and me" Liebe thinks to himself, his gaze climbing up to her lips.
"Sir?" she softly asks, and Liebe looks to her as he is pulled out of his thought. "No, there is nothing," Liebe replies, standing straight, and he sees the wolf get behind her and lick her entire back, making her fall to her arms. "Hey," she utters and turns around, "that is it, the belly rubs have been canceled for you," she tells the wolf, who begins to pout. "It is too late for apologies, mister," she softly says.
Liebe goes to the wall and grabs the water bottle, standing on the floor, and he turns, seeing Millie getting back to work before he proceeds to walk outside and he heads back to Asta in the forest, continuing the workout with him.
Haze walks up to his room after breakfast and crashes down on the bed. He rolls back and forth a few times, not finding a way to really rest despite being tired after a long night. He rolls over and turns his eyes to the ceiling. And he thinks about the small fortune that his mother left him and he thinks to his birthday party where he spoke with his friends Tory and Alisa and their refusal to deliver his package due to it being late, and Haze frowns. "I need things to go smoother," he says and gets out of bed, stepping out of his room and walking the halls with determination in his eyes. Moments later, he steps out behind the Black Bulls hideout, and he gets on his broom and mounts it before ascending to the sky.
Hours pass, and he lands in the capital. "Now to find the one responsible for governing the land," he mutters to himself.
